Throwback Thursday - Orly Satin Royalty

Since demi-matte polishes seem to be the current trend (Zoya Satins, Essie Cashmeres, etc) I thought I'd share one I've had in my collection since around 2001.  Orly Satin Royalty.  This comes from their Satin Hues collection and I'm really not sure when it originally came out, but doing a little search on the internet, it seems these were released around 1998.  All I know is I wore this one quite a bit when I was a freshman in high school.  Check out the old Orly bottle!

This is 2 coats.

Neon Dotticure

Hi everyone!  Today is just a quick post.  I decided to try my hand at a neon dotticure.  Since the neons were to sheer to do over black, I did a white dot first then did the neon dots on top.  I kind like it.

What do you think?

Twinsie Tuesday - Celebrity Nail Recreation

It's time for another Twinsie Tuesday post!  This one is all about recreating a manicure seen on a celebrity.

I chose to do a mani I saw on Katy Perry in her Dark Horse music video.  It's a gold nail with blue tips.  In retrospect I think this would have looked better on longer nails, but I kind of dig it.  I used China Glaze Mingle with Kringle for the gold and Essie Strut Your Stuff for the blue.

And a picture of the inspiration!

Check out the other Twinsies' Celeb Inspired nails!

Tiffany at Polished To Precision

Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les

Marisa at Polish Obsession

Lisa at The Polish Playground

Lakeisha at Refined and Polished

Kristine at Pink and Polished Nails

Jessica at Blue Velvet Lacquer

ChiChi at I'm Just Me...ChiChi

Chelsea at Nailed Blog

Bridget at A Painted Nail

Amber at Nails Like Lace

Amanda at Fashion Footing

Amanda at Amandalandish

Alaina at The Little Canvas

Zoya Naturel Satins Swatches and Review

Press Sample

Hi everyone!  Today I have Zoya's Naturel Satin Collection.  These aren't your normal glossy polishes.  Instead they have a satin finish which is somewhere in between glossy and matte.  Instead of being shiny and reflective, they have more of a sheen.  The colors in the collection are very lowkey and neutral.  Some of the paler colors pop more against my skin tone, but would look more subdued on someone with lighter skin.  Let's get on to the pictures!

First up is Brittany.  This one is light pink.  Zoya calls it rose mauve.  Application was good.  Slightly thicker than the rest of the collection.  This is 2 coats.

Rowan is nice taupe color.  This is 2 coats.

Tove is the gray of the collection.  This is 2 coats.

Ana is a very pale pink color.  Zoya calls this one almond, but on my skin it looks more pink.  This is 2 coats.

Sage is the green of the collection and the one I was looking forward to the most.  It did not disappoint!  This is 2 coats.

Last, but  not least is Leah, a lavender taupe color.  This is 2 coats.

The formula on all of these was nice.  I will say that it's important to use thin coats.  When I was applying, it felt like everything was applying uneven and I honestly got a little frustrated.  However, once it dries, everything levels out perfectly.

Overall I like this collection and the neutral color choices.  They were all pretty flattering.  My favorites are Brittany and Sage.

Zoya can be purchased from Zoya.com and retail for $9 USD per polish.  They ship to both the US and Canada.  Check out these places for more updates from Zoya!

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest

**Products in this post were sent by PR for consideration.  All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Color Me Monthly Swatches and Review

Press Sample

Hi everyone!  Today's post is about a new to me subscription service, Color Me Monthly.  CMM is a monthly subscription that sends a bottle of polish for the price of $7 per month and free shipping.  Each color is a surprise and is chosen based on color and fashion trends.  I have a few to share with you, so on to the pictures!

First up is Pennywise from October 2014.  It's a duochrome that shifts from pink to orange.  The formula on this was nice.  It goes on sheer for the first coat, which is perfect for layering, and builds up nicely to wear on it's own.  This is 3 coats.

Next is Just For You from December 2014.  This is a bright red shimmer, that was perfect for the holidays.  Nice application, no complaints.  This is 2 coats.

And my favorite is from this month's subscription (January 2015), Blustery Day.  This one is a lovely dusty blue/gray creme.  Although LA weather is anything but blustery, it reminds me of a warm winter sweater.  Application on this one was also very nice.  This is 2 coats.

Over all I enjoyed these polishes.  The price is reasonable at $7 per month and while this may not be for someone like me with 1700+ bottles of polish, it's perfect for someone building up their collection and the average polish user.  It's also great that they have a section call "The Vault" where you're able to buy some of their past colors that you may have missed out on.

For more information, check them out at ColorMeMonthly.com or on social media:

Facebook - Twitter - Instagram - Pinterest

**The products in this post was provided by PR for consideration.  All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Twinsie Tuesday - Fandom

It's Twinsie Tuesday!  This week's post is all about fandom.  That tv show, book, movie, etc that you are absolutely obsessed with and can't live without.  It has you screaming Team ______ and if someone disagrees they get the side eye of disapproval.

I fangirl over a few things like Harry Potter, Adventure Time, True Blood (don't talk to me about that last season), historical fiction books in general, and Psych.  Quite the random mix.  But today's post is dedicated to all things Downton Abbey and especially the Dowager Countess of Grantham: Violet.  No one delivers those one liner insults quite like her.  I have no doubt she'd diss this manicure as well since tradition is of the greatest importance.  As a dedication to Downton Abbey, I decided to go with black lace nails.  I cheated a little, because I used Sally Hansen strips in Laced Up.

And of course this post wouldn't be a Downton Abbey fandom post without me leaving you with a quote from Lady Grantham.

Don't forget to check out the other Twinsies and what they're fangirling over!

Alaina at The Little Canvas

Amanda at Amandalandish

Amanda at Fashion Footing

Amber at Nails Like Lace

Bridget at A Painted Nail

Chelsea at Nailed Blog

ChiChi at I'm Just Me...ChiChi

Jessica at Blue Velvet Lacquer

Kristine at Pink and Polished Nails

Lakeisha at Refined and Polished

​Lisa at The Polish Playground

Marisa at Polish Obsession

Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les

Savannah at Addicted to Polish

Tiffany at Polished To Precision

Throwback Thursday: Milani Dress Maker

Welcome to another addition of Throwback Thursday! (I'm a little late, but it's still Thursday in Los Angeles!)

In the fall of 2009 Chanel released Jade as a part of their Jade Nail collection from Peter Phillips.  Everyone went crazy for Jade.  It sold out everywhere and started going for exorbitant prices on ebay.  I'm talking $200.  Now you're just lucky to see it pop up on ebay.  Several polish companies tried to duplicate Jade and the consensus seemed to be that Milani Dress Maker came the closest.  Dress Maker came along in 2010 as a part of the Haute Value collection.  Of course it's now also discontinued.

This is 4 coats.

L'Oreal Masked Affair

Okay, I'm joining the ranks and posting my swatches of L'Oreal's Masked Affair. I found this in Rite Aide back in December and finally got it on my fingers!

Masked Affair is from the Dark Side of Grey collection that's obviously been inspired by the up coming Fifty Shades of Grey movie release.  It's also a pale lavender holo!  A holo from a mainstream brand is always exciting.  The holo on this reminds me of the scattered holo used in the China Glaze Kaleidoscope collection.

Application on this is nice, but be sure to let it dry between layers or it may drag a bit.

This is 3 coats.

Twinsie Tuesday - Inspired by Shoes

Press Sample

It's Tuesday, so that means it's time for Twinsie Tuesday.  Today is all about shoes.  Now I have to admit that I prefer classic shoes.  Most of mine are black and not super inspiring, so I decided to search for something with a little more flair online and found some Christian Louboutin Mandolina booties called  that are black with gold etched in pattern and this is what I came up with.

For this look I simply painted my nails black with Zoya Willa and stamped over it with China Glaze 2039 using one of my Red Angel plates.  I'm still practicing my stamping, but I'm getting better!  And the shoe that "inspired" this look (they retail for $1,495 USD!):

Christian Louboutin Mandolina Booties

Press Sample

**Zoya Willa was sent to me by PR for consideration.

Don't forget to check out the other Twinsies!

Tiffany at Polished To Precision

Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les

Marisa at Polish Obsession

Lisa at The Polish Playground

Lakeisha at Refined and Polished

Jessica at Blue Velvet Lacquer

Erin at Paint Those Piggies

ChiChi at I'm Just Me...ChiChi

Chelsea at Nailed Blog

Bridget at A Painted Nail

Amber at Nails Like Lace

Amanda at Fashion Footing

Amanda at Amandalandish

Alaina at The Little Canvas

Throw Back Thursday: Zoya Astra

Hope everyone is having a great week!

I was sorting through my Zoya collection the other day and came across Astra.  It came out for Winter 2009 as a part of their Ultra Glitter collection.  I did a post about Luna from the same collection almost 4 years ago!  I believe Zoya discontinued these, but you can find them on Amazon and ebay for a pretty decent price.

Astra is a bright magenta pink glitter in a jelly magenta pink base which was pretty unique back then.  I'm really enjoying this on my nails.  It's been a while since I put this on.  The formula on this is nice.  It's actually pretty thin, but builds up really well.

This is 3 coats.

Indigo Bananas Holo Chrome Flakies

Press Sample

Hi everyone!  Today I have some fabulous-ness from Indigo Bananas.  These are not just chrome flakies that everyone has been obsessing over, but there's added holo too!  I reviewed one about a month ago and I just had to have Accretian Disk (holo).  In my order Andrea kindly shipped over the two new additions and I'm (still) obsessed!

This post will be heavy on the pictures, so read on after the jump!

Twinsie Tuesday - Pond Mani

Hi everyone!  Today I'm excited to be posting my first post as a Twinsie Tuesday Girl!  Every Tuesday I'll be posting a themed mani along with the other Twinsie Tuesday ladies.  Be sure to check out their blogs!  Links will be at the end of this post.

This Tuesday's theme is the pond mani, originally created by OliveViewFashion.  I have to admit, I had to google it because I hadn't heard of it before.  It's basically a jelly sandwich with nail art instead of glitter sandwiched in between.  As my jelly I decided to use Misa Pour Me Something Tall and Strong.  In between I stamped flowers using China Glaze Snow and Red Angel stamping plate 121.  I've been saying for years that I'm going to learn to stamp, and I think I'm finally getting the hang of it.  That means I'm about to go crazy buying stamping plates :-D

Don't for get to check out the other Twinsies!

Alaina at The Little Canvas

Amanda at Amandalandish

Amanda at Fashion Footing

Amber at Nails Like Lace
Beckie at Polished by Beckie

Bridget at A Painted Nail

Chelsea at Nailed Blog

ChiChi at I'm Just Me...ChiChi

Erin at Paint Those Piggies

Jessica at Blue Velvet Lacquer

Lakeisha at Refined and Polished
​Lisa at The Polish Playground

Marisa at Polish Obsession

Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les

Tiffany at Polished To Precision